GUWAHATI, June 5 - The Gauhati High Court will soon start the process of selection of members to be appointed in the new Foreigners Tribunals to be set up under the provisions of the Foreigners� Act. In the first phase, 200 new Tribunals will be set up by the end of July. The Government is planning to set up 1,000 new Tribunals and 200 will be set up in the first phase.
Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that at present, 100 Foreigners� Tribunals are functioning in the State and after the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), it is expected that the burden on the Tribunals would increase considerably. All the persons, whose names do not appear in the NRC, will have the right to approach the Foreigners� Tribunals and it will not be possible for the existing Tribunals to deal with it. That is why, the decision to set up 1,000 new Tribunals has been taken and 200 will be set up in the first phase.
Sources said that the High Court would select members to be appointed in the Tribunals and the process is likely to start soon. After the selection of the members by the High Court, the appointments will be given by the State Government. Any lawyer having seven years of practicing experience will be able to apply for the job. Retired officers of the Assam Judicial Service and Assam Civil Service having LLB degree, will also be eligible to apply for the posts.
Sources said that initially, the Tribunals would function from rented houses and according to an estimate, each Tribunal would require at least nine other persons for clerical and fourth grade jobs. Such persons will be appointed by the State Government on contractual basis and the process is likely to start soon. The Government will also deploy lawyers in all the Tribunals, sources said. It may be mentioned here that the Central Government will bear the expenditure of functioning of the Foreigners� Tribunals.
After the completion of setting up of 200 new Tribunals, the process of setting up 200 more in the next phase will start. However, the plan to complete the process of setting up of 1,000 new Tribunals has not been chalked out as yet. Sources said, �let us first complete setting up of 400 Tribunals in two phases and the next phases can be planned out depending on the number of people who approach the Tribunals after their names are not included in the NRC.�
Meanwhile, sources revealed that the verdicts of the Tribunals are being reviewed by a State Level Committee and there were instances where cases were referred back to the Tribunals. The overall functioning of the Tribunals is monitored by a Judge of the Gauhati High Court.
